An Unexpected Source of Well-Managed Domestic Hardwoods

The Anderson-Tully Company has come forward with detailed infor­mation about its timber management and harvesting practices, and environmentally oriented forest observers are amazed at how sustainable its practices are. One of the largest producers of hardwoods in North America, A-T is privately controlled and until recently has not sought out publicity about its operations. Recent revelations, however, show a company that has long strived for the ideals of continuous high-quality timber supply, overall health of the forest, and minimal destructive intervention.

In a presentation at The First North American Conference on Trade in Sustainable Forest Products, Tony Parks, vice president for land management at A-T, described their forest management practices. Parks overseas the team of thirteen foresters and two wildlife biologists who continuously monitor the company’s lands, which flank the Mississippi River through seven states from Illinois to Louisiana. Every five years the team spends six months collecting data for their continuous forest inventory (CFI), from which they have detailed information going back to 1967. Rather than eliminate tree species with little commercial value, the company has chosen to create markets for them, going as far as Japan to sell cottonwood, for example. As a result, they harvest 45 species in 23 marketable groups.